Worth paying more for a hand built wheel?

I have a dilemma. I have the option of getting a wheel hand built at my lbs by a renowned wheel builder or getting one for about £30 cheaper (£70 vs £100) online (probably CRC).

Are the CRC ones well built too or can they be a bit hit and miss? Obviously I'd like to make a saving but am feeling a bit guilty about not going to the lbs which has been very helpful and have a great reputation.

Just picked up a new hand built set from big Al at Wheelcraft (legend).
I got a free cup of coffee,the offer of some cake and told to bring them back for a free tune up once I have bashed them round the trails.

There is little if nothing he doesn't know about wheels and it was well worth the money on fuel to get there and back (twice).
Oh, and as I had sourced out the hubs and rims online they still came in cheaper than buying the same set ready built.

Does that wheelbuilder know me and the way I ride? I very much doubt it. Does that wheelbuilder offer a free tweak after a bedding in period (as mentioned above)? I very much doubt it. Does that wheelbuilder offer banter, coffee, cake and support (again as mentioned above)? I very much doubt it.

Captain flash you may know all those things about your wheel builder but I don't think most people would do. How does how you ride effect how they build the wheel? The components used therein maybe but I'd be selecting those anyway based on my knowledge/previous experiences.

CaptainFlashheart - Member
CRC wheels are hand built as well you realise?
Does that wheelbuilder know me and the way I ride? I very much doubt it. Does that wheelbuilder offer a free tweak after a bedding in period (as mentioned above)? I very much doubt it. Does that wheelbuilder offer banter, coffee, cake and support (again as mentioned above)? I very much doubt it.

Weight, bike, riding style. These can all affect how someone builds a wheel.

Lobbocks. All it affects is the choice of spoke/hub/rim. If you're specifying that in the first place, the only important fact is the quality of the build process, and then it's either done properly or not.

Sorry cfh, got to agree with the people who've called you above. Unless your wheelbuilder is suggesting the components then good wheelbuilding is good wheelbuild.ing I'll bet that some will dispute that based on the silly 'black art' bs that's surrounds many wheelbuilders but my own wheelbuilding background disagrees. People like to think they're getting something special and many wheelbuilders play up to that ime.

I'd imagine that someone you meet and ask to build something is going to be more dedicated than someone sitting in a factory somewhere who might only do the bare minimum they need to do to keep their job. I think I'm willing to pay the extra for that.

If wheel building is so easy then why do they write numerous books on the subject, most of them being over 100 pages or more.

I agree about riding being irrelevant given a certain component choice, but building a wheel has so many variables that there does have to be some craft in doing it well. Also, a wheel picked up from the shelf can seem perfectly fine, but uneven tension can lead to a rapid taco on the trail, when not much lateral force is applied.

Wheelbuilding is not rocket science, for an average rider there will not be much in the longevity of a machine built wheel versus one built by a so called master craftsman; especially when using cheap components.

Retensioning IMO is not a myth; if you`ve got a new (aluminium) hub and rim and new (steel) spokes there will be some bed in at the hub & rim spoke holes and possibly stretch in the spokes themselves. Although probably very slight this will change the tension in the spokes >>>need to retension as a best option

The last shop built wheel I had, which came from a shop that brags about the skill of their wheel builder didn't do a very good job. I check my wheels for even tension using the park tool as my ear isn't very musical. When I build a wheel, I get a tension tolerance of plus or minus half a unit. When I checked the shop built one, it was under tensioned and a tolerance of plus or minus three. The last set of hope hoops I had were plus or minus one. They're effectively machine built wheels. Really does come down to the builder and the machine. Too many people big up their wheel builders in shops with no real measure of what they're doing.

James, I agree that there will be bedding in of components but all of that shoud be taken care of by the builder before the wheel leaves the shop. There should be sufficient stretching, squeezing and detensioning done that once out of the shop the wheel should not need any retensioning. I have the callouses and carpel tunnel to show for it